Design and fabrication of coconut fibre coconut dehusking machine

Abstract

Coconut is a main crop of Central region and dehusking of coconut is very necessary step in making the coconut ready for further utilization. Coconut dehusking involves removing of the husk from the coconut. Traditional dehusking is time consuming and difficult process. To overcome these limitations, to improve the automation and to provide safety for the operator, a new design of dehusking machine is introduced and fabricated. This dehusker comprises usage of two horizontal rollers with series of sharp tools which would shear the husk from coconut when rolling against each other. Shear force is required for dehusking of mature green coconut and dry brown coconut. Shear force required is more for mature green coconut than dry coconut. Torque and speed reduction required for dehusking is calculated by using the force required for shearing coconut. Optimum number of spikes is arranged on the rollers to dehusk the coconut with minimum force.